2014-07-31

Hi there! My name is Stacy and I blog at The Land of K.A. (K and A are the beginning letters of my kid’s names).
I am very excited to be here to participate in Refashion Month! I have been sewing since I was 12, and since I am now 40…that is a long time! I sew for both my kids and myself. This is in addition to a full time job working as an accountant, and the kids’ activities. I still manage to squeeze in my "therapy" sewing time, though!
My sewing style is very…ermmmm…creative? I occasionally use a pattern, but rarely keep it the same without making some change to it. I draft a lot of my own patterns, and tend to reuse a pattern that fits well over and over and over again. I don't do a lot of refashioning, but when I have clothes that no longer fit me I try to upcycle them into something for my girl.
Come on over to my blog today to see how I refashioned this dress into a top for my girl:

2014-07-30

Back in May I was part of the Muse of the Morning Pattern Tour. The pattern I chose to make and review for the tour was the Billy Bright Eyes Snappy Tee Shirt, and I made it in size 2 for my daughter... Somewhere later that month I was able to finally finish the second one I had started (and mentioned in that post then). It is a 6M sized one for my baby boy, and I used the long sleeve with cuffs option. And, of course it was refashioned!

To make this, I started with two before pieces. An orange woman's sized top my mom gave me not longer ago, and I've never liked but always saw potentional on it for the kids (and because I pretty much keep most of the knit pieces I come across...); and, left overs from a (bigger) kid's shirt I had cut years ago to make a waist band. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough fabric to make the collar with this brown colour as I first hoped to. I still like it in orange, so it's no big deal. What would you like better?!

I found my missing snaps, but I just wasn't lucky with them, they weren't a very good quality ones and I just rather had some metallic ones sewn by hand to my boy's shirt. The collar ended up with this very small pintucks on the front which makes me feel not so happy about the finished piece, but to make up for it, I really like the small pocket on the front. It's not part of the pattern, and it's the only thing I made differently this time. An easy and quick sew and two more items refashioned, used to the fullest and out of my pile!

2014-07-29

Hi! I am Sara, mom to three amazing kids, and I live in beautiful and sunny Portugal. I am passionate about all things handmade and I am addicted to sewing. :) I sew mostly for my kids but I also sew for myself from time to time. I share my sewing projects over my blog - Made by Sara - and on Instagram.

I am very happy for being part of this Refashion Month! I can't help looking at a piece of clothing that me or my kids don't use anymore and thinking of at least a dozen ways I could refashion it... I just love this creative process! So I have this huge pile of outgrown clothes ready to be upcycled into something else. It was not an easy choice to get only one of them and make something for this refashion series... Come and see it here!

I've been sewing for many years and love to share my projects with others. It's only in recent years, though, that I've begun to see old clothes in a new light. Pre-loved clothes, as I prefer to call them now, can so easily be given a longer life by refashioning them into something new.

When I began blogging, I didn't realise what I was getting into. I was totally unaware there was a whole new world, full of warm and welcoming people who sew. People like Magda - creative, inspiring and generous. I have so much enjoyed becoming a part of this community and not a day goes past when I'm not on my computer, reading blogs, learning new things and just generally being motivated and inspired to sew.

To showcase the work of others, I host ongoing link parties, where you can add your own sewing projects.

Apart from my family, my other passion is gardening. It's a toss up each day as to which activity will receive the most of my attention.

Enough about me. This time I've chosen to make a cushion for Refashion Month. I'm not sure if making a cushion can be called a refashion. Perhaps it's an upcycle. Whatever you call it, my jeans pocket cushion began life as a pair of jeans and a dress. Head on over and I'll show you how to make one for yourself.

2014-07-26

Last week was really poor in photos. I didn't have much where to choose from. We are getting back into our normal routine bit by bit and I was able to do things as pick G. from daycare, with S. on the sling and by myself. It feels good to find some normality back, although things are never the same as they were when there is a new member in the family.

It was a busy week, comparing to the previous ones. It started with me taking S. to repeat his foot test, something was wrong with the first one and now we wait for the results. G. stayed over my sister's for a couple of days again - she just loves the country side, but who doesn't, right?

I finally sewn something. I actually worked on 2 pattern tests, a blog tour item and a bit more. I feel so happy about that.

Today is grandparents day over here, and V. and I thought it would be fun to use these empty keyrings he got in his job, to put our kids pictures and give each of our parents one as a little gift. It is also V.'s birthday today... little miss and I will try to work on a homemade present for him... pictures of that will be included next week (I guess).

Somewhere in the week, I made soup. With love. I love how much G. cares for her little brother. She loves making bubbles. She doesn't play with dolls, but she wanted to carry the small baby doll with her. S. is growing out of his first clothes so quickly! And, I'm almost bback to shape.

2014-07-25

My name is Joy Candrian and I blog over at xoxograndma.blogspot.com. I'm a wife to one great guy whose put up with my creativeness for 36 plus years. I'm also a proud mother to four children and grandma to eight adorable grandchildren. All of these sweet little ones live too far away to enjoy on a daily basis, so when I'm not traveling to see them, I'm constantly creating something to send to them so they'll grow-up knowing their grandma loves and adores them.

2014-07-24

Hi there! I'm Irene and I love to Refashion!
I'm a 30 something italian mom with a strong passion for anything sewing. I usually blog at Serger Pepper, I'm absolutely Pinterest addicted and I spend my very little free time drafting and grading patterns... it's my favorite killtime!
With my project for this Refashion July 2014 I want to show you how you can create a beach robe with couture finished seams starting from very poor materials and spending no money (since I'm giving you the pattern I drafted for FREE!). I hope to see you soonin my little refashion world, it's a cozy place :D

2014-07-23

Hi, I'm Teri! I'm a mom to six kids who keep me pretty busy :) But in my spare time, I love to blog about my sewing projects over at www.climbingthewillow.com. I also enjoy sharing what I know with others, especially those just learning how to sew, and I hope to include many more projects here in the future :)

I love making clothes for all my kids, but I prefer making little things whenever possible, so my youngest, Mae, reaps the benefits of most of my sewing :) After all, she will only be two once, and there is really nothing cuter than toddler sized clothes! Plus I have a lot of big clothes sitting around that are just perfect for turning into little clothes :)

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for an upcycled t-shirt dress that I made from one of my oldest daughter's outgrown tees. It's super comfy and just perfect for a casual summer day. It would also make an adorable cover up for a quick trip to the beach ... or to the pool for us since we don't live very close to a beach! And the best thing is the tutorial can be adapted for any size tee, so it even works for bigger kids. Come check out the tutorial here!

2014-07-22

Hello! I'm Elizabeth and I blog over at hamiltonchicklets with my talented sister Sara. Although I primarily sew for my two adorable little kiddos, I have also been known to sew a wee bit for myself. My sister also shares her sewing and knitting projects so hopefully there is a little something of interest for everyone. In the meantime, I am super excited to be a part of Magda's refashion month... hope you like what I've done which you can see here!

2014-07-21

Hi, my name is Shelly! I am a Stay at Home Mommy to 3 awesome children (and my husband lives here to, lol)...2 boys and a baby girl. They keep me pretty busy during the day, but after they go to bed I love love love to sew and on Mondays I take a break to watch The Bachelor(ette) ;-). Before I was a mom I worked as an Actuary, which has to do with Math/Statistics, so I approach sewing like a puzzle...and I love all the numbers/logic involved! I have a harder time with the creativity part, but I'm trying! Come visit me over at my bloghttps://sewshellysew.wordpress.com!

2014-07-19

This past week wasn't a week of a lot of photography over here. Well, we did take hundreds of new photos, but they were all of the sweetest faces and poses little S. makes. We've also been a little bit more tired than before because he decided that if we're (and by "we" I mostly mean "I") not holding him, or feeding him, he's crying. This week has been about cuddling and caring for the little mister. I also had my niece staying over which has been great to keep the little miss busy and distracted (because her brother requests so much attention from me, I fear to fail her). S. has been wearing mommy's handmades (and friends handmades too) but he's growing out of the onesies already - in just two weeks). I miss sewing. This past week, the only thing I was able to accomplish was fixing a dress I made to order and wasn't yet quite right on the little girl I made it for. So, yes. I miss sewing and I hope I can get to it this weekend still. Yesterday was daycare's final year party, and it was so much fun. The party was 80's themed but many people didn't get in the role. I did, and my sister and the kids. G. spent most of the time in the swing. There ain't a thing she loves most.

2014-07-18

Hello, everyone! I'm Carissa from CarisssaKnits. I've always had the urge to make stuff, but although my mother taught me how to use a sewing machine when I was young, I didn't really pick it back up until much later. I began to dabble in refashioning a couple years ago after weight loss left my wardrobe seriously lacking. Since then, this hobby has become an obsession as I've built up my skills and filled my closet with one-of-a-kind creations.

One of my recent projects was a major overhaul on these boring pants...

...to turn them into a cute cargo skirt for summer.

You can read more and see the whole process on my blog. I hope you'll pop over for a visit.

And finally, I want to thank Magda for hosting another refashion month, and thank you all for welcoming me. It's a honor to be included in this creative extravaganza!

2014-07-17

Today I am sharing an outfit I made for G. I've been wanting to share this one on the blog for sooooo long, because it was one of those we fall in love with even before we finish sewing it. In one of my charity shopping trips I saw a pair of women's size flowerly capris, and I had my eye on it. I didn't bring it home because I was convinced to bring only the kind of pieces I went there looking for. But everytime I went there, they were still hanging, calling out for me, and eventually, one of those days, it came home.

So, for 1€ only, I thought I could make my daughter a new pair of skinny jeans, since I had just made a few pairs back then and it can get quite addicting when you're in love with a pattern. But then something lightened my brain and I was reminded of a great free shorts pattern I had seen many months before, and wanted to try ever since. It was time to do it and so I did. But, not only I made a pair of shorts from these old capris, I was also able to make another Izzy top out of the pieces I had left. AND I have even put up a tutorial for you on how to add a peter pan collar to your Izzy top/dress as I did for my Izzy Paris look.

First things first, let me start with the shorts. The pattern I've used was the City Shorts Pattern, which is a 3-4y sized pattern, given away for free by Monica, over Another Dress. The fact that it was 3-4y sized kept me from sewing it earlier, especially because I have a skinny princess. I decided to go for it though and if it turned out too big, we could always wait until she grew into it. I just used a little less lenght in the elastic for it to fit her skinny waist as changes to the pattern, for all the rest I followed instructions, and I loved the final results. Once she saw them finished, she loved it too. I had them hanging and everyday she would ask me if those were made for her. The best thing is that I am sure this is something she will be able to wear for a long long time, once that waist gets too tight I can always replace the elastic for a longer one. And, because the fabric is a slightly stretchy denim, she can even wear it in different year seasons, with or without layers.

Of course, I loved the scraps way too much to part from them, they were begging me to be used too, and I couldn't resist the plea. I had another Izzy Top in mind. I had just finished and publish the Paris look one, and Teri, the designer of this great pattern asked me if I could put up a tutorial on how to add a peter pan collar to her top (or give her permision to do so herself), and I immediately said yes, of course I would do it. It's a pleasure! Here's a reminder of that top:

Today, I am happy to finally share the tutorial on how to draft and add a peter pan collar to your Izzy top too.

Drafting your own collar:

Start your Izzy top and follow Teri's tutorial up until step 10. Then come back here and draft your collar.

In the 4th photo above, I've added just 1cm (3/4"), but you can add a bit more if wanted, just depends on how you want your collar to look like. The same happens with the width, mine isn't a very big collar, so you can add as many cm or inches as you'd feel comfortable with.

Sewing your collar:

For this top I used the same fabric for the outside and inside of collar, but if you check the one above (the black and white one), there's faux leather with applications on the outside and stripped fabric on the inside. If you're using different fabrics too, you should cut 2 interfacing, 2 main fabric and 2 lining fabric pieces. If adding any applications, make sure to add them before you sew any pieces together. When interfacing, you can pick either the 2 main fabric pieces or the lining ones, it doesn't really matter. Then put main and lining right sides together pin and sew as shown on pictures above.

Go back to Teri's tutorial to seehow to add the bodice lining, and come right back here.

And that's it. If you have any doubts, please feel free to ask and I will help if I can.

2014-07-16

Hi, I'm Amy! My husband and I own a small business, and I work at home. In my spare time, I hoard fabric & patterns; and sew when I should really be doing laundry. I like to sew children's clothing, and I use the scraps to make and sell doll clothes in my Etsy shop. I've recently started trying to make myself clothing, which is a challenge because patterns never fit me right! I organize my thoughts and ideas on the blog. I'm so happy to be here at House of Estrela!

Please come see my super easy overall dress refashion. If you have time, leave a comment or find me on social media. I love meeting new sewing friends!

2014-07-15

If you're looking for the giveaway, please click HERE. Hello! I am Jess from Gracious Threads, and I am thrilled to be part of Refashion Month here at House of Estrela.

I blog about everything sewing, mostly clothing projects for myself and my 3 children. I've recently published several sewing patterns; you can find them in my Etsy shop.

Today I will be sharing with you a summer outfit I made for my oldest daughter. As she grows older and her style changes, I've needed to expand my sewing technique skill set and look for inspiration. I hope this post inspires you!

2014-07-14

Hey! I’m Stephanie from Swoodson Says. I blog mainly about things I’ve crafted and sewn but also like to share roundups of fun things that caught my eye each week. Refashioning & upcycling is my favorite so I'm happy that Magda gave me a reason to dig in to my "fix it" pile!

I am self taught but try not to let my lack of knowledge and/or experience stop me from playing with fabric, embroidery, or yarn. You can see my very first refashioning project from high school here - but full disclosure, my Mom actually sewed it!

2014-07-12

This is where I show you bits and parts of our week behind the scenes.

I skipped last week's glimpse, mostly because I got in the hospital Tuesday late at night and only left Friday in the afternoon with a new baby.

This last week was mostly about him, adjusting, trying to catch up with a few things, but most of all, a week of tireness and a messy house. We did manage to take S. to his first appointment with our family doctor, he's already recovering the weight loss from the first days. We went to the supermarket with both kids and things went well. G. is loving her little brother, and every now and then, she asks us to hold him in her arms. Daddy wants to cuddle his boy and play with his girl. He's a super daddy! G. got a patisserie for her birthday, but it was not until this week that daddy put it together. She loves it. We did some shopping for S. (mainly onesies) and I had some laundry to do.

2014-07-11

We are a mother/daughters team and we blog at Skirt Fixation about everything to do with skirts! When we signed up to be a part of Magda's Refashion Month, we had no clue what we would be refashioning! How's that for planning? But sometimes we work best when we fly by the seat of our, er, skirt! So we signed up and thought hoped inspiration would hit later. Then Magda was one of our contestants during Challenge Create: Adult Edition, and we learned a lot more about her, including that she was expecting a baby boy. By the time the contest was finished, we loved Magda and her style and her new unborn baby, and knew we had to make something for the little one. Having welcomed a baby boy to our family in April, we had a pretty good idea of what the perfect baby boy gift basket could contain! (And to make it extra special for Magda, the refashion queen, we had to include a refashion!) So here's a photo of the finished baby gift set.

Please come over and see which piece was refashioned and read about all the others too!

2014-07-10

This is a refashion that I did way over a year ago. A request from my sister. Back in 2012, I made a few dresses for all of us, for my cousin's wedding. I blogged about them here. Last year my sister had another event to go to, and wanted to have my niece wearing the same dress again. The problem was that it would take place in a less warmer season and she asked me to make L. a little cardigan or a bolero.

I didn't have any orange fabric back then, so into the refashion pile we went. My mom had just brought me another bag of clothes someone else had given her, and she didn't want... so, into my stash it went. It was a woman's sized shirt, in a very light and slippery shiny knit. I kept it because I loved the embroidery on the front. I'm sorry the before picture isn't that good.

When we picked this piece, I felt a bit sad I was going to lose that embroidery. I was able to use the shirt partially, I saved that piece for a future project. It's still waiting... and will for as long as it has to be, until I find the perfect destiny for it.

But I did turn part of the shirt into a bolero for my niece. She loved it. You see the bag she's carrying? It's a crochet one and my mom made it for her. She was proud of her handmades, she loves when we make things for her, I wish she never changes because her brother is 8 and not so easy to satisfy.

To make this bolero, I tried to "copy" the pattern from my daughter's 9M sized bolero. I loved the shape so much I just had to use it for the niece's. It was a bit trial and error, and although they didn't complain, I thought it was a bit wide in the end.

2014-07-09

Fenna is a Christian homeschooling mom and sews for her 5 kids, husband, and herself. She blogs about her sewing adventures over at Fabulous Home Sewn. She has released a number of applique patterns and a little girl’s purse pattern over in her Craftsy shop. You can follow her adventures on her Facebook page as well.

2014-07-08

Hi Everyone! My name's Terri and I blog, sew and design over at www.sewstraightandgather.com. I'm a mom of three and the little girl in the photo is my youngest, model and pretty much the reason I started sewing four years ago. Sorry boys :(

I was so happy to join Magda for her refashion month! It really is one of my favorite things to do, when it comes to sewing. I'm constantly asking my family for their unwanted bags of clothes...My garage is like a donation center right now. LOL. Whatever I don't use, I do donate but I haven't gotten around to giving them a call yet. I hope you enjoy my refashion. There is nothing like taking something old and making it new again!

2014-07-07

Jennifer Lachman is a mother of 3 with a desperate need to create. One of her favorite ways to fulfill that need is with sewing and refashioning. Among other things she loves to sew for her children and their dolls. She shares her creations on her blog, The Lachman Collection.

Today she is sharing a round up of her favorite doll clothes refashion projects from around the web. You can see the full post on her blog.